Today’s readings, and particularly our Gospel reading, really challenge my concept of mercy and forgiveness. And the reason for this is because of the sting in the tail, ‘And that is how my Heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother (and sister) from your heart’.
The Assumption
One of the constancies in Holy Scripture is that the vast majority of characters that we hear about have only fleeting appearances and we are told very little about them. Some have names, Zacchaeus for example, and some don’t, the woman at the well. It’s tempting to look on these
Homily for 18th Sunday
Two beautiful readings today, especially from Isaiah; “Buy corn without money, and eat, and, at no cost, wine and milk”. And then we hear about Jesus feeding the 5000, again without cost. Now, we know that these readings are working at two levels. On the one hand they’re referring to
Seventeenth Sunday.
Today’s cascade of Parables is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. They point to the kingdom of course but each gives a quite different slant. In the first, the kingdom is a treasure hidden. In the second, the kingdom is the merchant
Fifteenth Sunday
There is the old saying; ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’ and although I do not think it would be wholly accurate in regard to our situation here, I do wonder how many of us, when we hear the words ‘And Jesus said “Imagine a sower going out to sow” think, ‘Oh yes,
Fourteenth Sunday
You probably recognize the image Zechariah is giving us in the first reading today as it is the scripture quotation that both Matthew and John use to describe Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Over Easter I read a book in which the writer contrasts this humble, simple arrival
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Today is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the two titans of the Church. I say titans, not through their own merits, but by responding to their call to serve God in a way that helped the Good News spread throughout the world in their day and, in fact,
Church Times in the Deanery
With the relaxing of lockdown it has enabled those Churches which are ready and able to open for private prayer until we are able to worship publicly together. We continue to pray for all those who are struggling with illness and isolation and all those who are working so hard